It was but the overture to the first act of a story that may yet involve vast treasures, jealous rivals and a long journey up the M6. The Royal Opera House confirmed yesterday that it was seeking a home from home, in Manchester.

The announcement comes after months of speculation that it was planning to build - from scratch - a second centre for its repertoire in the city.

The looming recession may have halted such grand ambitions, but the city and the Royal Opera House are forging ahead with efforts to bring Covent Garden to Manchester.

Like two lovers in the first flush of a romance, yesterday they released a joint announcement that significantly advanced the plot. They named the Palace Theatre, a 2,000-seat venue in the city centre, as a potential base for the opera house in the North.

Times Archive, 1946: Reopening of Covent Garden

When the great curtain went up again at last at the Royal Opera, it was more than auspicious. It was festive

• Archive Topic: Founding of the Royal Opera

Related Links

• Encore, maestro - but this time with passion

• Hänsel und Gretel

Tony Hall, the chief executive of the Royal Opera, said: “The Palace Theatre is an iconic building in the heart of Manchester and is a perfect location for developing our relationship with cultural and educational centres in the city.” He emphasised that discussions were at a preliminary stage.

Sir Howard Bernstein, the chief executive of Manchester City Council, said: “If successful, this will be fantastic for Manchester and further enhance our strong cultural offer.”

It is not the first time that the Royal Opera has sought a second home in Manchester. In the spring of 1980 The Times reported that Manchester was seeking its own “operatic Covent Garden”. Again the Palace Theatre was the proposed venue. Although the Royal Opera did visit, the arrangement was cancelled in 1983 for lack of funding.

Since then the opera and ballet audiences of the city have been served by touring companies. Philip Grange, Professor of Music at the University of Manchester, said: “We have two seasons from Opera North at the Lowry and then the only other opera comes from the Royal Northern College of Music. On the ballet side, it is even more limited. There does certainly seem to be a gap in the market. When Opera North did Peter Grimes, that was fantastic, but it hasn’t always caught the public attention in that way.”

He predicted that the arrival of the Royal Opera and the Royal Ballet from Covent Garden would “tread on the toes” of the existing companies, which survive with the help of public funding. However, Richard Mantle, the general director of Opera North, told The Times that Manchester was “currently underserved with opera and ballet”. He said: “When you look at the size of the theatregoing population I think we could have more. It is something we have been looking at providing ourselves.”

Opera North, which is based in Leeds, itself began life as an offshoot - of English National Opera, in 1977.

At The Lowry, an arts venue that opened eight years ago on the redeveloped Salford Quays to the west of the city with a brief to raise the standard of performing arts in the area, there was some concern. A spokesman said: “The Lowry would love to see the Royal Opera House have a new home in the region, but we must make absolutely certain that any proposal enhances and does not undermine the existing cultural life of the region and makes best use of public money at a time of economic difficulty.”

Christopher Barron, the chief executive of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, was concerned to see the specifics of the proposal. “A lot depends on how many weeks, what performances, what the potential audience will be.” While he saw potential for new provision of opera and ballet, he was concerned at possible repertoire clashes.

“I’m always pleased to hear of new plans at a time of relative austerity,” he said. On the other hand, he wondered if Manchester could cope with more than one production of Swan Lake in a year.

In a speech at a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Manchester last month, Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary, declared himself in favour of the plan. Mr Burnham, whose Leigh constituency lies to the west of Manchester, has supported efforts to move cultural institutions beyond the South East, declaring himself a fan of Tate Liverpool and the Imperial War Museum’s branch in Trafford.

A spokeswoman for his department said: “These are interesting proposals and we will be having detailed discussions with Manchester City Council, the Royal Opera House and the Arts Council.”

A spokeswoman for the city council said that the announcement yesterday was in part to quash rumours of an even more costly development. More details are expected to be released at the end of the week.

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010